The atoll with the most islands on Earth

01 · The atoll

The Maldives' last great place

One coral rim, 255 islands, 55 kilometres across. PADI's directory lists two dive sites for the whole of it. This map has 69, and hardly any of them see a boat from one week to the next.

02 · The east rim

Channels full of sharks

Maarehaa Kandu is a marine protected area where fishing is banned, and on the right tide there can be up to two hundred grey reef sharks in it. Off Gemanafushi next door, a blue-water drift runs at first light for scalloped hammerheads.

03 · The inner reefs

Turtles, rays and coral you can snorkel

South of Kondey, almost two kilometres of hard coral in shallow water with barely any current, turtles and reef fish through it. Next door, the Kondey Stingray Parking Lot off Mutteyfushi: a long reef known for its coral and several kinds of stingray. Both work for snorkellers.

Madaveli Manta Point, on the far west rim, is a snorkelling spot and the one place in the atoll where manta rays are sometimes seen. Sightings are rare, so count a manta as a bonus. The reef itself is lively, and turtles are often spotted.

05 · The south rim

Bucket-list waves, nobody in the line-up

Getting here is a flight south and then a boat, which is exactly why a pass can still be yours alone. 12 breaks along this rim: Beacons is the marquee one, a heavy right over a submerged reef pass and the first stop for charters coming in. Blue Bowls is the wave still working when nothing else is. Sharp reef, shallow inside sections and hard current through the passes.